Paul Tough, author of the fascinating new book, How Children Succeed, joins us to challenge the notion that a child’s future success is predicated on IQ and performance on standardized tests. Researchers have recently discovered that cognitive skills matter a lot less than has been previously thought and they have identified a very different set of talents that they believe are crucial to the success of kids. The skills that really affect a student’s success, it turns out, are persistence, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control. Paul Tough refers to these as character skills and in this month’s main interview, he explains what the very latest research is telling us about childhood, and about success and failure, and why this understanding is very different from what the conventional wisdom tells us.
Administration & Leadership
Paul Tough
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character
Meets ISLLC Standard 1
September 1, 2012
Paul Tough interview transcript (PDF) »
Paul Tough is the author of Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America and How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. He is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and a speaker on various topics including education, poverty and politics.
Photo credits: Mary McIlvaine Photography
One Response to How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character
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The gist of this seems to be that there are so many real life challenges that kids face, along with just getting through school assignments everyday. There are socio economic advantages and disadvantages that each student has which may differ broadly depending on each one’s personal circumstances. Learning, as well, to overcome obstacles, even when it means failing at something, but persevering to believe in oneself and keep going to achieve eventual successes is very important.